


whatever happens

by blackandblue13



Series: some jatp one-shots bc i'm emo [8]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26854264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackandblue13/pseuds/blackandblue13
Summary: quick character study for reggie during the boys' scene in 01x09 (the one at the beginning after booking the orpheum but before seeing caleb)
Relationships: Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: some jatp one-shots bc i'm emo [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969249
Comments: 13
Kudos: 196





	whatever happens

**Author's Note:**

> bruh i was just getting some writing practice in and i adore reggie with all of my heart and i made myself a lil emo so y'all can deal with this too. just finished watching the show for the third time and i cry every time. anyways. i love julie. i love her boys. enjoy.

**2020.**

“You guys are the only family I have.” 

His eyes don’t meet Luke’s — or Alex’s. 

Years upon years — scratch that, _decades_ , if those twenty-five years in the dark abyss count, too — of their intertwining relationship. Gone. It would only take a second. They could perform their hearts out, but not even make it to the bows before disappearing into the unknown afterlife. Or, _post_ -afterlife, in this situation. 

Of course, they had Julie now. She's their family, and they love her more than anything. But she had only been in their lives for so long. Alex and Luke, on the other hand, had seen sides of Reggie that he wouldn’t even know about, if not for them. 

Reggie fidgets, rubbing the tips of his fingers on one hand to the nails of the other. Not scratching, but feeling the smoothness. Feeling a texture that’s always been a constant for him. With the bass (and banjo), he’s had to keep his nails short, which quickly resolved his anxious itching habit. 

When he finally does look up, Alex and Luke are exchanging glances. He knows they feel the same. Even if they don’t say it, it hurts all the same. And he wishes he could’ve done more in their first life to protect them from everything they had to deal with. Sure, he let them crash at his house when things got rough at their own, and they returned the favor, as did Bobby, up until the three of them moved into the studio. 

But he could’ve done more. He _should’ve_ done more. 

Maybe he could have been a peacemaker for Luke with Emily and Mitch. Told them how important the band was, how they were racing on a path to success, how there was a clear view of fame and fortune ahead of them. 

Or talked to Alex’s family. Somehow convince them that, being gay isn’t wrong, isn’t a sin; it’s something beautiful to be celebrated. And even if they didn’t agree, they couldn’t change the fact about their own son, and they should just shut up and accept him anyways. 

He wanted to scream at all the parents about how their sons’ happiness meant everything to him. 

Because they mean everything to him. 

But he didn’t. 

The voice of reason — the voice of Alex — brings him out of his head. “Yeah, I mean, I don’t know what’s gonna happen either, but… it’s not like we have a choice.” He adds a soft chuckle, a feeble attempt at lightening the mood. 

In that moment, Reggie feels smaller than he ever has before. 

Smaller than when he spent the night at Luke’s, and his parents made an offhand comment belittling the band, which sent Luke storming up to his room, Reggie excusing himself in a whisper so quiet, he didn’t even hear himself. 

Smaller than when he spent the night at Alex’s, thinking they were home alone, and falling asleep in his bed, limbs entangled, only to wake up to Alex’s mother crying and father screaming _not in my house_. 

Smaller than when his parents’ arguments drowned out his bass, ultimately deciding for him that _this_ would be the night he ran away. If they heard the door slam on his way out, they never acknowledged it. 

Reggie hums in response to Alex until the jolts hit all three of them. Hard. Pushing Luke away from the piano while he and Alex steady themselves against it, wind knocked out of their lungs — if they even _breathe_ , in the first place. 

The pain of the jolts spreads to his wrists, threatening to open up scars he’d long forgotten about. He rubs them, a sense of ease, and catches Alex do the same out of the corner of his eye. That would have to be a later conversation. Or maybe it was the stamp, a heavy reminder of another piece of their unfinished business. 

“I’m pretty sure we do, and it rhymes with The Hollywood Ghost Club.” Reggie’s bitter tone lets his friends know that he means action. 

Once and for all. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!! 
> 
> tumblr / blackandblue13 
> 
> \- b


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